A femtocell, (e.g., Home NodeB (HNB) or Home evolved Node B (HeNB)), is a customer-premise device that may connect wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) over a macro-area wireless network air interface, (such as Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) or Long Term Evolution (LTE)), to the mobile network operator's core network using a broadband IP network.
The current trend for mass consumer deployment of femtocells is driven by factors such as better indoor coverage, improved data access tariffs, higher speed of data service, and enhanced call quality, with complete operator management in existing spectrum and at reduced cost per bit. Femto services would be the next wave in the connected digital home and other usage scenarios, such as enterprise and public spaces, for new services. For the connected home segments, applications are based on service themes like remote control of home appliances, virtual fridge notes, home security, video door bell, connected home media, wireline phone emulation, etc. For the enterprise and metro-zone segments, applications are based on themes like personal shopper, targeted local advertising, etc.
The handset (i.e., WTRU) application market today is booming. Many applications today are handset-hosted. The time to market for an application takes a much faster route when the application intelligence is bundled within the handset than if it had to be hosted out of the telecom network infrastructure. However, such applications often tend to be ‘over-the-top’ type and may not involve the mobile network operator. It is therefore useful to develop femto service solutions which are hosted by the mobile network operator as well.